Many students are intrigued by the sight of the 5-foot giant ball that is rolling across the Midtown campus this week, surrounded by the brothers of the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity.

Perhaps you’ve been stopped on your way to class, on the way to the shuttle, or about to enter the student center as a brother of ZBT calls out asking for you to sign the ball, and to kindly donate towards the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Get On The Ball is an event, which originated from the Beta Zeta Epsilon chapter of ZBT at the University of Maryland. Funds are raised for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals by businesses to sponsor the event, or by individual donations.

Featured from left to right are Ray Wolfram, Jason Petraitis, Jeff Moffat, and Ciara Lubus. Photo courtesy of Andy Hsu

In a recent interview with the Humans of WestConn Founder, Clarence Pacete, brothers Ryan Manion and Daniel Cummings had valuable input regarding the importance of the Get On The Ball event and Greek Life in general:

“Being part of ZBT and in Greek life in general has given opportunities to us and a purpose for being here on campus,” the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau of the Zeta Tau chapter say.

“We advocate Greek life and how valuable it is to be a member of it. One of our responsibilities is to spread the word about our events and our fellow Greek life organizations’ events. People want interaction; so when we talk to people on campus, you’ll be seen as a friend not an associate. Also, talking to the students helps with leadership. Being a part of greek life looks good on a resumé. We know about the stereotypes that go along with Greek life; but we are a non-pledging and non-hazing fraternity. They were the standard when our organization was created. You shouldn’t be afraid of being ostracized if you decide that going greek isn’t for you. One takeaway from this organization is being able to wear these letters with pride, even when you aren’t actually wearing the letters on a shirt. We encourage any to try going greek, we are happy to talk to you more about it.”

An important aspect of the event is raising funds from local businesses to sponsor our event. Currently, Soho’s pizzas restaurant; Double Twister’s Ice Cream shop, Kitchen Traditions, and Chamomile Natural Foods are all proud sponsors of ZBT’s Get On The Ball at Western Connecticut State University.

Brother Nico Dee. Photo courtesy of Matthew Mendillo

More information can be found about the Get On The Ball event by going to www.zbtgetontheball.com and information on Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals can be found by going to give.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org where spokeswoman Jennifer Lopez advocates the benefits and importance of the foundation.